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Collections tool

The Weaviate Cloud (WCD) Collections tool makes it easy for developers and non-technical users to create, manage, and delete collections. Use the tool to configure a new collection, specify a vectorizer module and add collection properties.

Open a collection​

The collections tool is available for collections that are hosted in Weaviate Cloud.

Open a collection step by step
  1. Open the Weaviate Cloud console.
  2. Select the Collections tool from the left sidebar.
  3. Select a cluster from the list to see its collections.
  4. Click View details to check the collection config, or Explore data to view collection objects.

If you don't see any available clusters, select the Clusters option from the left hand menu and follow the steps to create a new cluster.

Create a collection​

Create collections with sample data​


Create collections with sample data step by step
  1. Open the Weaviate Cloud console.
  2. Select the Collections tool from the left sidebar.
  3. Click on the New Collection button.
  4. Click the Create sample collection button to configure and create a collection with sample data.
  5. Choose the sample dataset you wish to use.
  6. Finish the collection creation process.

Create collections with PDF data​

The Weaviate Cloud (WCD) Collection tool allows you to easily upload data from a PDF file into a new Weaviate collection. The tool guides you through selecting your cluster, configuring the collection, and then automatically imports the data and vectorizes the PDF pages.

For this guide, we will use the following file: NASA's Plan for Sustainable Lunar Exploration (c. 2024).


Create collections with PDF data step by step
  1. Open the Weaviate Cloud console.
  2. Select the Collections tool from the left sidebar.
  3. Click on the New Collection button.
  4. Click on Create new collection and select the Upload CSV, Excel or PDF option.
  5. Click the Browse files button to select the PDF file from your computer.
  6. Choose a name for the collection. Optionally add a description and update the default settings if necessary.
  7. Finish the collection creation process.

Create collections with CSV/Excel data​

The Weaviate Cloud (WCD) Collection tool allows you to easily upload data from a CSV file into a new Weaviate collection. The tool guides you through selecting your cluster, configuring the collection, mapping CSV columns to Weaviate properties, and then automatically imports the data.

For this guide, we will use the following import.csv file:

import.csv
id,product_name,price,description
1,"Laptop",1200.00,"High-performance laptop with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD."
2,"Mouse",25.00,"Wireless optical mouse with ergonomic design."
3,"Keyboard",75.00,"Mechanical keyboard with RGB backlighting."

Create collections with CSV/Excel data step by step
  1. Open the Weaviate Cloud console.
  2. Select the Collections tool from the left sidebar.
  3. Click on the New Collection button.
  4. Click on Create new collection and select the Upload CSV or Excel option.
  5. Click the Browse files button to select the CSV/Excel files from your computer.
  6. Choose a name for the collection. Optionally add a description and update the default settings if necessary.
  7. Select which columns to import as object properties into the collection.
  8. Configure property names, descriptions and data types. Also, choose which properties will be vectorized.
  9. Finish the collection creation process.

Create a custom collection​

This allows you to create an empty collection which can then be populated programmatically.


Create a custom collection step by step
  1. Open the Weaviate Cloud console.
  2. Select the Collections tool from the left sidebar.
  3. Click on the New Collection button.
  4. Click on Create new collection and select the Configuration for any data format option.
  5. In the General section, configure collection-wide settings:
    • Name the collection (must begin with a capital letter, only letters, numbers, and underscores allowed).
    • Enable multi-tenancy if you need data isolation between users.
    • Set a default vectorizer. The editor expands to show model configuration options for the selected vectorizer.
    • Optionally toggle Vectorize collection name to include the collection name in the vector embedding.
  6. In the Properties section, add properties to the collection:
    • Enter property names (must begin with a lowercase letter, only letters, numbers, and underscores allowed).
    • Set the data type for each property. Some types show a gear icon for additional configuration.
    • For Object type properties, click Edit to add nested sub-properties.
    • Click the trashcan icon to remove a property.
  7. Finish the collection creation process.

Modify a collection​

Most collection settings are immutable after creation. The following can be updated:

  • Collection description: Update the description text at any time.
  • Compression method: Enable a compression method if none is currently set. Once compression is enabled, it cannot be changed or disabled.
  • New properties: Add new properties to an existing collection. However, you cannot change the data type or vectorizer configuration of existing properties.

To modify a collection, first select the collection you want to edit, then make changes in the editor.

Additional mutable settings

Some collection settings that are not available in the console can be updated programmatically using a client library. See the collection mutability reference for the full list.

Delete a collection​

Once a collection is deleted, it cannot be restored. The collection schema and all of the collection objects are deleted from the cluster. This operation cannot be undone.

Delete a collection step by step
  1. Open the Weaviate Cloud console.
  2. Select the Collections tool from the left sidebar.
  3. Select a cluster from the list to see its collections.
  4. Click the trashcan icon next to the collection you want to delete.
  5. Enter the collection name in the text box to confirm, then press Delete collection.

Additional considerations​

Weaviate collection schemas are highly configurable and can be tuned in many ways. Some schema elements are modifiable after you create the collection, but many properties cannot be modified. For additional details, see Collection definition.

Further resources​

Support & feedback​

For help with Shared Cloud and Dedicated Cloud, contact Weaviate support directly to open a support ticket. To add a support plan, contact Weaviate sales.

If you have any questions or feedback, let us know in the user forum.

Technical questions

If you have questions feel free to post on our Community forum.

Documentation feedback

Leave feedback by opening a GitHub issue.

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